Process of separating oil from water and refuse materials



m. 19, 71929. II-,702;6I3 c. K. MORSE PROCESS OF SEPARATING OIL' FROMWATER AND REFUSB IATERIALS Filad Dec. 20. 1926 INVENTOR Carl K. Mor'sePatented Feb. 19, I

UNI'I'ED STATES 1,702,613 PATENT OFFICE.

CARL K. MORSE, OF GREEN'WICH, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOIt TO ELEANOR K.HORSE, v

OI GBEENWICH, CONNECTICUT.

PROCESS OI SEPABATING OIL FROM WATER AND REFUSE MATERIALS.

Application filed December 20, 1926. Serial No. 155,895.

My invention relates to oil separating processes, such as separating oiland grease from water, and granular substances coated withoil or grease.

The object of my invention is to provide a process for separating oilfrom water or from substances coated with or holding oil in itsinterstices.

In carrying out my process I employ mechanical means which permits theoil to be separated from the other matter in which it is held, or withwhich it is mixed, in a continuous automatic process which requireslittle attention and may be operated by unis skilled persons. By thisprocess the dirt particles covered with oil are practically washed bythe water, the oil separating from the refuse material and rising tothetop of the water in the chambers, where it can be ac drawn "from thetank through the outlet openings provided.

Referring to the drawings .by means of which I carry out my process:

Fig. 1 is'a longitudinal sectional view of an oil separating apparatusembodying my invention. I

'Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof, the cover being partly removed forpurposes of this description.

so A indicates a tank of sheet metal, rectangular in form and having alength about twice that of its width, as constructed for general use ingarages, etc. the tank is about equal to that of its width. It isprovided with a flange A which extends entirely around the upper edge ofthe tank and with a cover comprising two portions A and A respectively,bolted to said flange by bolts A. The tank is equip- 40 ped with twopartitions B and G respectively, the partitions extending entirelyacross the tank. The partition B extends from the top downward nearly tothe bottom thereof as illustrated and the artition 0 extends from thebottom upward ly about two-thirds the height of the tank and spaced fromthe partition B to form a conduit E throu h which water and anyentrained oil may ow from chamber D to chamber F. The top of thepartition 0 is provided with an apron extension 0 to prevent surging ofthe fluid in the chamber.

The tank is provided with two outlets 'for oil indicated by G andlocated in, longitudinal alignment with eachother, the lower The depthof the oil, grease and dirt through edges of which are located a shortdistance above the top of partition C. An outlet for water is providedcomprising a circular partition H which extends from a point above theoutlets G downward to the bottom opening H providing an outlet conduit Hand a piped outlet H the bottom of which is located in ali ment with thebottom of outlet openings y The tank is further provided with doors IIrespectively for access in cleaning out the tank when sediment has beendeposited therein from time to time, the sediment being indicated byletter J. K indicates a gas release pipe which is connected to the tankon one side thereof and extends well above the top, and also serves toprevent water or oil from overflowing in event of excess flow to thechamber D from the source of supply. The partition B is cut awayv acrossthe middle of its top and the lower.

end of a triangular sha ed table L rests on its top between the hig 1er.end walls at B The lower end of this table extends entirely across thetrack and rests at or below the bottom line of the outlet pi e H Thistable is preferably made of ga vanized iron, the corrugations Mextending transversely and measuring about of an inch from centre tocentre of same, and the table is inclined about one inch per foot fromthe top end N to the bot-tom corrugation O, and is further provided withside walls or flanges M An inlet pipe P extends through the rear wall ofthe casing near itstop, the lower portion resting in the upper end ofthe table M as illustrated. A sump Q, empties into the pipe P. A steampipe R extends through the side walls of'the tank and is arranged inreturn bend form and the table rests on the pipe and is heated by steamflowing in the direction indicated b the arrow in Fi ure 2, thus thewater 0 condensation W111 readily flow .to the outlet steam trap (notshown) located at the lower end of the pipe R.

The operation is as follows: -Water, oil, dirt and grease are depositedin the sump Q, the water content carr ing pipe to the table M, where itsflow 1n 'olume is checked by the corrugations, causing it to flowlaterally in the same until .it overflows to the next lower corrugationwhere it is spread over a greater area and the oil sepai rates from'thewater as it surges and passes oilis'carried away when it reaches theoutlet G in either chamber, the oil reaching chamber F being thatentrained with the flowing water and risin from the sediment carried tothe bottom 0 the chambers. Instead of using a corrugated table I may useany other form that will spread the water and agitate the refusematerial while obstructing the rapid flow over its surface, such asraised or embossed ribs formed in the bottom of the table, but I preferthe corrugated form as it is easy to obtain and relatively low in cost.

Where the oil is heavy 'and in cold weather, I prefer to use the steamwhile operating the device, as the oil separates faster and thus thedevice is more eflicient. The apparatus is entirely automatic in actionand has been found in actual practice to work successfully, practicallyall of the oil and grease being recovered from the sludge.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new is:

1. The process of separating oil from refuse or other material withwhlch it is mixed consisting in adding water to the mixture to thesurface of the water, then leading the oil and water from said tankthrough separate outlets.

2. The process of separating oil from refuse or other material withwhich it is mixed consisting in addin water to the mixture to provide afree y flowing fluid, then spreading the fluid in increasing ratio toprovide a shallow slow flowing stream while eatlng the same to separatethe oil therefrom and leading the oil to a reservoir and the water toanother place.

3. The process of separating oil from refuse or other material withwhich it is mixed consistin in adding water to the mixture to provi e afreely flowing fluid, then continuously spreading and retardin the fluidto cause the oil to float to the sur ace of the mixture, then separatingthe mixture from the oil by causing it to flow onto the surface of aseparate body of Water and then leading the oil obtained from themixture to a reservoir.

4. The process as set forth in claim 3-with the added step of heatingthe mixture while the same is being retarded and spread in a stream ofshallow depth.

5. The process of separating oil from refuse or other material withwhich it is mixed consisting in adding water-to the mixture to provide afreely flowin fluid and continuously spreading the fluld while heatingthe same as it flows and leading said fluid to a tank in which the oilseparates from the water and refuse and floats on the surface of thewater, then leading the oil and water from said tank through separateoutlets.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature.

, CARL K. MORSE.

